The Welcoming

tools.”
    “Okay.” Mildly concerned, Hope laid a hand on Clare’s arm. “Honey, you had the sonogram, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And?”
    “Oh. Let’s walk up to Vesta. I’ll tell you and Avery at the same time. Beckett’s going to call his mother, tell his brothers. I need to call my parents.”
    “The baby’s all right?”
    “Absolutely.” She patted her purse as they walked. “I have pictures.”
    “I have to see!”
    “I’ll be showing them off for days. Weeks. It’s amazing.”
    Avery popped out the front door of the restaurant, a white bib apron covering capris and a T-shirt. She bounced on purple Crocs. The sun speared into her Scot’s warrior queen hair, sent the short ends to glimmering.
    “Are we thinking pink?”
    “Are you opening alone?” Clare countered.
    “Yeah, it’s just me. Fran’s not due in for twenty. Are you okay? Is everything okay?”
    “Everything’s absolutely perfectly wonderfully okay. But I want to sit down.”
    With her friends exchanging looks behind her back, Clare walked in and straight to the counter, dropped onto a stool. Sighed. “It’s the first time I’ve been pregnant with three boys fresh out of school for the summer. It’s challenging.”
    “You’re a little pale,” Avery commented.
    “Just tired.”
    “Want something cold?”
    “With my entire being.”
    As Avery went to the cooler, Hope sat down, narrowed her eyes at Clare’s face. “You’re stalling. If nothing’s wrong—”
    “Nothing’s wrong, and maybe I’m stalling a little. It’s a big announcement.” She laughed to herself, took the chilled ginger ale Avery offered.
    “So here I am, with my two closest friends, in Avery’s pretty restaurant that already smells of pizza sauce.”
    “You’ll have this in a pizzeria.” Avery passed Hope a bottle of water. Then she crossed her arms, scanned Clare’s face. “It’s a girl. Ballet shoes and hair ribbons!”
    Clare shook her head. “I appear to specialize in boys. Make that baseball gloves and action figures.”
    “A boy?” Hope leaned over, touched Avery’s hand. “Are you disappointed?”
    “Not even the tiniest bit.” She opened her purse. “Want to see?”
    “Are you kidding?” Avery made a grab, but Clare snatched the envelope out of reach. “Does he look like you? Like Beck? Like a fish? No offense, but they always look like fish to me.”
    “Which one?”
    “Which one what?”
    “There are two.”
    “Two?” Hope nearly bobbled the water. “Twins? You’re having twins?”
    “Two?” Avery echoed. “You have two fish?”
    “Two boys. Look at my beautiful boys.” Clare pulled out the sonogram printout, then burst into tears. “Good tears,” she managed. “Hormones, but good ones. Oh. God. Look at my babies!”
    “They’re gorgeous!”
    Clare swiped at tears as she grinned at Avery. “You don’t see them.”
    “No, but they’re gorgeous. Twins. That’s five. You did the math, right? You’re going to have five boys.”
    “We did the math, but it’s still sinking in. We didn’t expect— We never thought— Maybe I should have. I’m bigger than I’ve ever been this early. But when the doctor told us . . . Beckett went white.”
    She laughed, even as tears poured. “Sheet white. I thought he was going to pass out. Then we just stared at each other. And then we started to laugh. We laughed like lunatics. I think maybe we were both a little hysterical. Five. Oh, sweet Jesus.
Five
boys.”
    “You’ll be great. All of you,” Hope told her.
    “We will. I know it. I’m so dazzled, so happy, so stunned. I don’t know how Beckett drove home. I couldn’t tell you if we drove back from Hagerstown or from California. I was in some sort of shock, I think. Twins.”
    She laid her hands on her belly. “Do you know how there are moments in your life when you think, this is it. I’ll never be happier or more excited. I’ll never
feel
more than I do right now. Just exactly now. This is one of those moments for me.”
    Hope folded her into a hug, and Avery folded them both.
    “I’m so happy for you,” Hope murmured. “Happy, dazzled, and excited right along with you.”
    “The kids are going to get such a kick out of this.” Avery drew back. “Right?”
    “Yeah. And since Liam already made it clear if I had a girl he wouldn’t stoop so low as to play with her, I think he’ll be especially pleased.”
    “What about your due date?” Hope asked. “Earlier with twins?”
    “A